Chapter 710 - 299: Immortal King’s Tomb (2)

Chapter 710: Chapter 299: Immortal King’s Tomb (2)

Both he and Li Qiushui were only at the Qi Refining level. Even if their strength reached the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, they would still be no match for the Nine-headed Bird.

For now, the Nine-headed Bird couldn’t get to them, mainly due to the cover of the jungle.

The moment they left the jungle and were fully exposed to the Nine-headed Bird’s sight, they would be dead without a doubt.

However, as the Nine-headed Bird drew ever closer and the power spewing from its mouths grew stronger, Chu Lingguang and Li Qiushui found themselves in increasingly dire straits.

"Senior Sister, we have to find somewhere to hide."

Chu Lingguang urged.

"I know, you don’t have to tell me."

Li Qiushui was starting to get agitated.

She and Chu Lingguang both released their Spiritual Sense Fluctuations at the same time, scanning the area ahead in search of a hiding place like a cave or a burrow.

"There’s a Stone Forest to the west,"

Chu Lingguang shouted.

Li Qiushui had spotted the Stone Forest as well.

Right in front of Chu Lingguang, she took out a Talisman. After infusing it with Spiritual Power, a propulsive force surged from behind them. Riding their Flying Swords, they shot toward the Stone Forest like arrows loosed from a bow.

The Nine-headed Bird in the sky only saw a streak of blood-red light appear beneath their feet. It looked like a meteor streaking out of the jungle, instantly pulling away from it.

"SCREEE!"

It shrieked in the sky.

With a single flap of its wings, its massive body spun twice in the air like a tornado before pursuing Chu Lingguang and Li Qiushui at an even greater speed.

「At the same time.」

Rockets of fire and blasts of frost rained down on them.

"WHOOSH!"

With no other choice, Li Qiushui steered her Flying Sword high into the sky. Empowered by the Talisman, their speed increased dramatically.

Now that they had lost the cover of the jungle, they were completely exposed to the Nine-headed Bird. The flames and frost that had been bombarding the jungle now shot directly toward them.

Standing behind her, Chu Lingguang summoned his Telekinesis Barrier.

He saw that the aftershock from the Nine-headed Bird’s flames was powerful enough to nearly shatter his defense. Fortunately, the impact also propelled him and Li Qiushui forward even faster.

Just as the flames and the swathe of frost behind them were about to catch up, they entered the Stone Forest and saw a dark chasm deep within.

"BOOM!"

Like the jungle before it, the Stone Forest was devastated by the Nine-headed Bird’s power.

Fire and a rain of ice descended simultaneously.

The two were caught between fire and ice.

"BANG!"

「A moment later.」

Struck by a shockwave from the Nine-headed Bird’s power, Chu Lingguang and Li Qiushui were sent flying into the bottomless, dark chasm within the Stone Forest.

At the entrance to the dark chasm stood a stone stele.

On the stele were three words: Immortal King’s Tomb.

"CLATTER!"

The two fell into the dark chasm and tumbled for an unknown distance. Fortunately, they were both Qi Refining cultivators. Their bodies were tough, and they were protected by a layer of Spiritual Power. Though they were battered and bruised, with some bones likely broken, the fall wasn’t fatal.

As their bodies came to a stop and they tried to get to their feet, they saw the entrance of the cave fill with a fiery glow, as frost began to seep inside.

Clearly, if they had been even a moment later, they would have been swallowed by the Nine-headed Bird’s power.

"SCREEE!"

The Nine-headed Bird circled above the dark chasm.

It didn’t seem to notice the stele at the edge of the chasm.

But once the flames below subsided, it sensed that something was amiss. As if remembering something, it panicked and tried to fly back toward the jungle.

But just as it was about to leave the airspace above the Stone Forest, a powerful, binding force seemed to seize its body. It was as if the Stone Forest itself was a naturally formed great Array that had completely locked it in place the moment it entered.

Its enormous body, as if stripped of its ability to fly, simply plummeted from the sky.

"BOOM!"

The deafening crash was so loud that even Chu Lingguang and Li Qiushui could hear it clearly from within the dark chasm. Though they were puzzled, they assumed it was just the Nine-headed Bird venting its rage on the Stone Forest.

’The Stone Forest outside must be completely decimated by now.’

They were both extremely tense.

A Primordial Great Demon with the strength of an Immortal Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator was far beyond their ability to handle. Even Zhou Changqing wouldn’t stand a chance. ’Perhaps only someone like Yang Rong could deal with it?’

After the Nine-headed Bird crashed to the ground, the stones it had toppled rose up, forming into stone figures. Then, astonishingly, every single stone returned to its original position.

The Nine-headed Bird, sprawled on the ground, began to bleed.

Its blood seeped into the earth.

The stones began to emit a ghostly glow.

Its massive body began to dehydrate at a visible rate. It quickly shrank, withering away until its flesh and blood disintegrated, leaving behind a giant skeleton.

Finally, even the skeleton vanished without a trace.

It was completely swallowed by the Stone Forest.

It was as if the Stone Forest were a giant vat of acid, dissolving even the hide and feathers of the Nine-headed Bird until nothing was left.

Fortunately, Chu Lingguang and Li Qiushui didn’t witness this horrific scene. If they had, the memory would have been seared into their minds forever.

"What is this place?"

Chu Lingguang noticed that it had gone silent outside.

He couldn’t resist sending out his Spiritual Sense to check the scene outside the chasm. To his surprise, he found the Stone Forest was just as it was before, and the Nine-headed Bird was gone.

Had he sent out his Spiritual Sense just a moment sooner, he might have witnessed the entire process of the Stone Forest swallowing the Nine-headed Bird.

"I don’t know either."

Li Qiushui shook her head.

Though they had escaped the Nine-headed Bird’s pursuit, the power of its attacks had been overwhelming, and she was still reeling.

As she stood up inside the dark chasm, she glanced around. She noticed the space was quite large. ’Could the Nine-headed Bird get in here?’

The two of them instinctively looked toward the entrance.

Thankfully, the opening was small. They couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"The Nine-headed Bird seems to be gone,"

Chu Lingguang said, puzzled.

"It wouldn’t give up that easily. Once a Nine-headed Bird locks onto a target, the hunt doesn’t end until one of them is dead."

Li Qiushui knew the creature’s temperament; otherwise, it wouldn’t have pursued them for so long.

"It looks like nothing even happened outside. Senior Sister, I think there’s something strange about this Stone Forest,"

Chu Lingguang said with concern.

When he and Li Qiushui had entered the Stone Forest, the Nine-headed Bird’s power had swept in from behind, devastating it just as it had the jungle.

But now, as their Spiritual Sense spread out from the dark chasm, they found that the part of the forest within their range had been restored to its original state, even though they couldn’t perceive the entire area.

"It is strange."

"I’ve entered the Ancient Perilous Land many times, but I’ve never heard of a Stone Forest like this within it."

Li Qiushui said grimly.

In their desperate flight from the Nine-headed Bird, they had rushed headlong toward the Stone Forest without a second thought. They hadn’t paid any mind to its features, drawn instead to the dark chasm within it, thinking it was a safe haven.

Now that they had successfully taken refuge in the chasm and the Nine-headed Bird was truly gone, they both felt an even stronger sense of foreboding for some unknown reason.

"Senior Sister, should we go outside?"

Chu Lingguang asked.

"We can’t. The Nine-headed Bird won’t spare us. Going out there would be suicide."

Li Qiushui shook her head.

"Since we’re here, let’s explore deeper. I have a feeling this might be an immortal’s abode left behind by someone from the past. We just need to be careful not to trigger any Restriction Arrays."

Li Qiushui was, after all, quite experienced.

"Alright."

Chu Lingguang had no choice but to agree.

Just like that, the two ventured deeper into the dark chasm.

Though it was a dark chasm, their Spiritual Power illuminated the path as if it were daytime.

"Who would leave an abode here?"

Chu Lingguang wondered aloud.

"Wait!"

The casual question sparked a thought in Li Qiushui’s mind. She stopped abruptly, her gaze turning toward the entrance. She once again sent her Spiritual Sense sweeping outside.

This time, she immediately spotted the conspicuous stele planted at the entrance.

And saw the three words carved upon it.

Immortal King’s Tomb.

The three words were not written in the script of Great Qin, but Li Qiushui had seen them in ancient texts. Because they were pictographs, she quickly deciphered their meaning.

The color drained from her face, and she stumbled backward.

"Senior Sister, what’s wrong?"

Chu Lingguang rushed to steady her.

"Immortal King’s Tomb... We’ve entered the most dangerous place in the entire Ancient Perilous Land!"

Li Qiushui’s voice trembled.